Morning

The entrances to the two residential streets leading to the road headed for A-Tur have been blocked off by concrete slabs. People clamber over and around them, it looks dangerous because the slabs appear somewhat unsteady. The third side road, near the crest of the hill by the monastery (going towards A-Tur that is) is blocked by slabs, but there is enough space for a pedestrian to walk through. At the other end, the passage from Abu-Dis into Ras-el-Amud is now at the university. A long slow line-up with three border policeman. The policemen finally went off telling the crowd to get checked at the gas station. Of course no one checked them there. In short, the usual absurd situation, the game of cat and mouse that has no logic, no security purpose and no effectiveness. At the gas station people were detained and released in fairly rapid succession. One young woman was held for about 20-30 minutes. We were informed by the policeman on duty that he had been "chasing her for three weeks" because she always tried to pass without a permit, and now he was "taking her to the station". A more senior policeman arrived by jeep, engaged in some "reeducation", though quite civilly, with three of us standing on his tail, and released her.